The Forgotten Chosen One
by HPFanficlover99
Summary: There's a girl at Camp Half-Blood who hasn't been claimed by her godly mother, what happens when she gets more than she bargained for? Just a short little story I've been toying around with, might continue it might not.
1. 1 Cecilia

"Come on Cecilia! Let's go!" Coach Trayton yells, clapping his hands as his star runner sprints into the finish line. "That a girl!" Cecilia grins and holds her hands in the air, panting a little bit as she does so. She slows to a walking pace as she does so, walking toward her coach who wears a proud smile. "You beat your personal best. Excellent, excellent work."

"Thanks Coach!" cecilia smiles and wipes her forehead with a towel their assistant coach handed her. "Is that vice principal Gratie?" Cecilia frowns as she notices the large man in the dark suit standing under an umbrella, unmistakingly staring at her.

"It is. He came out to see you blitz everyone else today. Don't worry about it, you did amazing out there. Go to the bus and get yourself something to drink. I have to get the times for the rest of the team" coach Trayton gives her a smile and dismisses her. Cecilia nods and walks toward the bus, stretching out her arms and neck as she walks. She pulls open the bus doors and climbs on, going to her backpack and grabbing her Gatorade and her recovery snack. Sitting down, she checks for any messages from her dad, not surprised when she doesn't find anything.

"Why am I even surprised at this point?" Cecilia asks herself aloud, sipping on her water and wiping away the sweat from her forehead.

"I don't know why you're surprised either. Mortal parents rarely have time for this half breed brats." Cecilia jumps as Vice Principal Gratie speaks from the front of the bus. She stands up and holds her water bottle close to her chest.

"Um, hi Vice Principal Gratie. Wait, what did you say?"

"You know what I said little half breed." Gratie grins wildly and walks toward her, Cecilia backs up, still holding on to her water bottle.

"Wha-what? What are you talking about?" Cecilia frowns, noticing just how tall Gratie really is up close.

"You're a half breed, but don't worry little girl. You will soon be taken care of." Gratie grins, his appearance changing slowly. His shoulders looked more broad and he appeared to be growing taller. _But that's not possible_. Cecilia backs up as he keeps advancing, reaching the end of the bus.

"What are you talking about Mr. Gratie?" Cecilia tried not to let her voice waver as she clutches her water bottle.

"Oh don't worry little girl" Gratie grins, showing sharp teeth that could not be natural. "You won't be alive long enough to find out." Cecilia grips on the to the handle behind her back, opening it right as Gratie lunges at her. She screams and jumps out, taking off at a sprint toward the road. "Get back here Miss Antoniou!" Gratie chases after her, getting closer with each step. Cecilia sprints, trying to lose him in the woods, her legs aching and her lungs burning.

"Leave me alone!" Cecilia breaks the cardinal rule as she glances behind her, almost tripping over her own feet at what she sees. Gone is his suit and tie, replaced with a tattered tank top and shorts combination. Oh and there was the one eye detail.

"Come here you little half breed! Argh!" Gratie falls to the ground as he's struck from behind by something. "More half breeds to eat for my lunch!" Cecilia finds a large oak tree and hides behind it, panting. She peeks out from behind it and sees Gratie throw someone across the forest. She gasps, her heart racing. Glancing down at her phone, Cecilia presses the call button for her dad and praying he answers. "Get back here you little half breeds!"

"Oi! Come on ugly! Over here!" Cecilia glances around the tree as a sixteen something boy yells at Gratie. He grips a bronze sword in his hand, brandishing it at Gratie. He throws it directly into Gratie's chest, sinking it in. Cecilia gasps as Gratie dissolves into a pile of dust, leaving his phone behind. "Come on, she ran this way." The boy with black hair runs toward Cecilia. She glances at her phone, frowning when it goes to her dad's voicemail. Again. She takes off running through the woods, hearing the two boys chase after her. "Hey! Get back here! We're not going to hurt you!"

"Who are you?! Leave me alone!" Cecilia pants, running as fast as her legs will carry her through the woods. With a start, she stops at the edge of cliff.

"We're not going to hurt you! Please just come here!" Cecilia looked over the edge of the cliff and takes a deep breath, jumping down into the water bellow.

Cecilia sits up in her bed, her heart racing from her dream. Running a hand through her dirty blonde hair, Cecilia tries to shake off the clammy feeling that dream always caused. She was safe, in the walls of Camp Half-Blood and those boys had been Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, and Grover Underwood, the famous satyr. They'd been in the area when Grover had smelled the cyclops that had attacked her and decided to come investigate. That was the day that she had learned why she'd caused so many schools to have mysterious accidents and why she could sometimes control people's actions. She was a daughter of a Greek goddess.

Only problem was, nobody knew which one and why she had yet to be claimed by her. Well nobody except for Cecilia. Her father, the famous marine biologist David Antoniou, had a photo of her and from there, and the stories he told of her, she was able to figure it out.

Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she decides to get up and get ready for the day. Grabbing a towel from her trunk, she quietly sneaks to the bathroom and turns on the shower. Stripping, Cecilia steps under the warm spray and let's the water run over her body. Light scars ran along her skin from all of the fights she'd been in and all of the monsters she had fought during the school years when she wasn't at camp. Quickly Cecilia washes up and dries off, braiding her waist length hair into a messy, but practical, crown along her hair line. She pulls on her favorite pair of worn jeans and an old shirt she'd cut the sleeves off of and that had been cut up in a fight last year. After brushing her teeth, she walks back to the Hermes cabin and lays her towel over the bar by her bed to dry and pulls on her shoes. The rest of the cabin had begun to stir just as she put on her scabbard and headed out into the early morning sun.

She walks through the main twelve cabins and heads to the mess hall for breakfast. Sitting down, she munches on bacon, fresh fruit, and sips orange juice. As her mother hadn't claimed her and she was about to turn seventeen, there was no point (in her mind) of offering up some of her food to honor her. Chomping down on her last piece of food, she walks out and heads to the arena to run a few sword fighting drills before all of the other camp activities started for the day. As she walks past a group of Aphrodite daughter's, Cecilia can't help but smirk when they glare. It wasn't that she didn't like the goddess of love or that she thought that they couldn't fight, she just thought they were pansies and full of unused potential.

"Hey Cecilia. Come to help Tyson and I move some crates for tomorrow's capture the flag?" Percy calls as he sees the blonde walk into the arena. Tyson, Percy's cyclops half brother, waves to her, carrying four crates on his back.

"I think I'll pass. What's in there anyway?" Cecilia asks, waving back and then immediately putting her hand back on her sword hilt.

"Just a few obstacles, nothing too serious. Don't worry, they won't seriously hurt." Percy sets down his crate, sitting on it after he's done. His sword was nowhere to be seen but that didn't surprise her as he often kept it hidden in pen form in his pocket. Percy was one of the oldest campers and, after turning nineteen, had decided that he was going to stay at the camp and help out. His long time girlfriend Annabeth Chase often came by to see him as well as to see how the camp was doing. She also liked to welcome any new Athena children who showed up and get their opinions on her plans for the rebuilding of Olympus. It had been five years since the final battle against the Titan lord Kronos and Percy was now twenty-one and still a serious challenge when it came to sword fighting.

"Well I look forward to it. I'm just going to run a few drills if that's alright with you."

"Actually, Chiron and I wanted to talk to you. Mind walking with me to the Big House?" cecilia frowned at this and wasn't sure what to think. Yeah, she wasn't a bad swordswoman but she wasn't the best, there hadn't been any threats (that she knew about that was) so there was no need for a quest. It was confusing why they would want to talk to her of all campers. Despite all of this and her worries, she nods and follows Percy to the Big House in silence, trying to ignore the stares and the whispers from her fellow campers. "Hey Chiron, figured we could talk to her now instead of later. Is that alright?"

"Of course, of course." Chiron smiles from his wheelchair, setting down his water. "I was just eating my breakfast, feel free to join me." Percy and Cecilia both take seats, one relaxed looking and the other one tense.

"Okay, what's going on? I'm not being kicked out am I? I know I'm unclaimed but that isn't my fault. I didn't do anything wrong! Yet. I mean, maybe I did?" Cecilia catches herself rambling, gripping her sword hilt tighter than she usually did.

"You've done nothing wrong my dear. We are only worried because you haven't been claimed by your godly mother is all. We were wondering if you had any indication as to why?" Chiron stares her down, Percy also studying her. Cecilia looked between the two of them, relaxing slightly.

"Is that what this is all about? I don't know why I haven't been claimed. I used to pray about it and think about it and hope she'd claim me so I don't know what I've done wrong."

"Nobody said you did anything wrong Cecilia" Percy reassures her, sitting back in his chair.

"I don't know why she hasn't chosen me. Why don't you ask Mr. D? I'm sure he knows."

"Lord Dionysus is away, visiting his wife on Olympus." Chiron answers, his hands folded calmly in front of him. "Do you know who your godly mother is by any chance?"

Cecilia hesitates, not sure she wants to answer that question. Sure she knew but did she want everyone else to know? Not really. Her leg bounces uncontrollably, half her ADHD and half nerves. Her mother wasn't exactly the poster child for godly parents.

"No. I don't know. Can I go now?" Chiron sighs but nods, letting her walk off toward the beach. Cecilia kicks off her shoes once she reaches the sand and sits down on the beach, letting the waves come up and tickle her toes. While she normally hated the beach there was something calming about the very edge of the shore, where water meets land in a slow pattern that had been going on since the creation of the sea. Tilting her hair back, she feels the calming breeze come from the ocean and run across her face.

"You lied in there." Cecilia opens her eyes and frowns as she sees Percy standing over her and casting a shadow. "Or at least you hesitated. Why?"

"Why do you care? It's not like you can prove otherwise." Cecilia shoots back, looking back out over the ocean. Percy sits next to her, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I care because I want to help. I'm the reason the gods have to claim their kids by the time they're teenagers and by the time they come to camp. You've been here nearly three years in a row so I want to know which goddess isn't keeping their end of the deal." Cecilia contemplates this for awhile, running her thumb along her sword hilt.

"She hasn't claimed me, that wasn't a lie. I have an idea of who it is but I don't have full confirmation. My dad died before I had the chance to confirm it with him." The two demigods look at each other, each trying to figure out what was going on. "Nobody would believe me if I told them my guess so I've kept it to myself. It's not that big of a deal to me that I'm not claimed. I don't resent her for that."

"Come on tell me your guess then."

"I want you to guess it first," Cecilia turns away from his serious green eyes, staring at the waves.

"Well you're damn good at mythology and battle strategy. You're also a fairly good swordsman. I'm going to guess Athena."

"Nope. and I'm a swordswoman thank you very much" she corrects, letting sand run through her hand and float away in the wind.

"You seem to like the beach so maybe… Amphitrite?"

"Have you ever seen me step foot inside the actual ocean? More than a few inches? She's also not fully human, more of a nereid or a sea water spirit." Cecilia looks Percy in the eyes, staring him down. "Come on Percy, look at me - really look at me - and tell me which goddess I look like. I'll give you a hint, young men love to be in her presence."

"Aphro- no it couldn't be. I mean, you're not like her other children."

"I told you, nobody would believe my guess. I think that Aphrodite, goddess of love and all things beautiful, is my mother." Cecilia stands up and starts to walk down the beach, drifting toward the calm waves. Percy scrambles to follow her, almost falling on his face in the process.

"Wait! How do you know it's her?"

"My dad kept a picture of her. When he got sick, he showed it to me. He said that she was the most lovely woman he'd ever met and not just because of her looks. Aphrodite has a reputation that she is the most beautiful but often times men won't be able to describe her as her looks will change day to day. My dad admitted that the only reason he remembered what she truly looked like was because of that picture. So you see, it was like solving a puzzle." Percy jogs and catches up with her, still in a state of shock. Cecilia stops in front of him and grabs his shoulders, staring him in the eyes and putting all of her power into her next words. "I want you to swear on the River Styx you will not share my godly parent with anyone until such a time as I am claimed."

"I swear on the River Styx I will not share your godly parent with anyone until such a time as you are claimed" Percy repeats in a daze, his voice sounding hazy.

"Good. Now go and teach." Percy walks off, shaking his head as if he was trying to get rid of a nasty headache. "And who said being the daughter of the goddess of love was no fun?"


	2. 2 Cecilia

"Alright guys, good work today! You did alright. If you guys have any questions on what we went over, just let me know. See ya!" Christopher waves everyone out of the forges then goes back in to clean up the mess they made. "Hopeless. Most of them are hopeless."

"Sorry not all of us can be as good at working with machines as you are." Cecilia smirks, messing with the feathers in an arrow. Christopher jumps and drops the hammer he was holding.

"Damn it Cece! Just because you can stay silent and scare the crap out of me doesn't mean you should! This is why I like machines - they don't scare you unless you tell them to!" Christopher picks up the hammer and places it among the other tools on his work bench. "What do you want anyway?"

"Can't I just come by to say hello? Dang" cecilia taunts him, hoping down from the bench she was sitting on. "I was also wondering if you could sharpen υπέροχες μπουκιές for me?"

"Fine. I guess. Why on earth you named her"lovely bites" I'll never understand" rolling his eyes, Christopher takes the sword from her sheath and brings it over to be sharpened.

"It's none of your business why I named _it_ that."

"A sword is a she, just like a hammer is a he" Christopher states, looking at the blade. "I want to know where you got this blade made. It's not bad work." He flips it and holds it out to her.

"I've already told you I had it made when I was with my aunt in Europe. Why do you need to know specifically where I got it made?"

"Because weapons are sort of my forte. Now can you get out of here please so I can get back to work?" Cecilia stands in front of his work bench, picking up random things off of it. "Don't touch that! That's for the chariot race! Give me that! I swear you're like a child." She sticks out her tongue at him, putting down some sort of contraption she had picked up off of the bench.

"Fine, I'll get out of your curls. Don't get your tool belt in a twist. Thanks for helping me out. I appreciate it!" Cecilia calls to him as she walks out and heads to the Hermes cabin. Her shirt had gotten torn during training and she wanted to get the leaves and dirt out of her hair before it was time for dinner. It had been a relatively easy day for her as she had just gone through her regular classes. She was afraid that Percy had found a way around her magic abilities but it was very unlikely.

Walking in, Cecilia is unsurprised to find the cabin covered in smoke and a mess. While Cecilia always kept her area clean, some of the other campers did not have the same concerns and did not care about the cabin being a mess. Sadly it was normally up to her to clean the bathroom and to try and keep the place relatively clean. Waving her hand in front of her face and coughing slightly, Cecilia walks to her bed and sits down, letting her hair down and grabbing her brush. Slowly, Cecilia brushes her hair out and then pulls it up again into a ponytail. She had no reason to look 'cute' and she certainly didn't care about looks as much as the other Aphrodite kids. Even if her mother did claim her, Cecilia was determined not to change and suddenly care about her appearance more than anything else.

"Hey Cecilia! Sorry about the smoke, minor accident!" Travis, a son of Hermes, sheepishly apologizes, running his right hand through his tousled brown hair.

"I'm kind of used to it by now but thanks anyway. I'm guessing you and Connor are trying to figure out a new kind of smoke bomb?"

"Yup. It's for a prank."

"Well I'll give you this. You may have gone off to college but you certainly haven't lost your fun side." Cecilia smiles and pulls a shirt out of her bag, "now if you will excuse me I must go and change my shirt before dinner tonight." She gives him a polite nod and walks to the bathrooms, changing her shirt there. Travis and Connor had always been kind to her and understanding of her not being chosen but she knew that, just like everyone else, they were waiting for her to be claimed. It wasn't her fault that her mother was behind on her duties. Still, the two sons of Hermes had made it clear to her that she was welcome to stay in their cabin for as long as she needed to. Looking in the mirror, Cecilia examines herself up and down. "As if you could be the daughter of the goddess of beauty" she scoffs at herself, walking out of the bathroom and out of the cabin. She did not need to think about it anymore. All she wanted to do now was forget that she had the conversation with Percy and Chiron and go on with her life.

But when do demigods ever get what they want?

The rest of the day passed by and soon it was the next day. It started out like any other and soon enough it was time for capture the flag. Cecilia, along with the rest of the residents of the Hermes cabin, dressed for battle. The Hermes cabin was paired up with the campers from Cabins 15 (Hypnos), 6 (Athena), 12 (Dionysus), 20 (Hecate), 14 (Iris), 16 (Nemesis), and 9 (Hephaestus). They were also technically paired with cabins 1 (Zeus) and 13 (Hades) but those cabins were not in use because Nico di Angelo did not stay there for very long and there weren't any children of Zeus currently living in Cabin One. They were up against the remaining cabins which consisted of the children of Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Hebe, Tyche, Nike, Poseidon, and Hera (even though there were none, they still liked to include the cabin). Cecilia pulls on her armor and tightens it, putting her sword in its sheath and making sure her dagger is secure. With her armor on and her helmet under her arm, she and the rest of Cabin 11 walk to Zephyros Creek to begin the games.

"Alright young heros! Quiet please! Thank you!" Chiron calls from on top a small hill, the creek between him and the heros. "Percy, if you would explain the rules please." Percy nods and jumps down into the creek, creating a small stage for himself on the water.

"Alright, most of you know the rules. No maiming or killing. You can take prisoners but you may not gag them or chain them up, we have a prison for that. You know your teams, stay on them. No going behind your team's back and being a traitor. Each team gets a flag and a territory. No more than two guards, I repeat _two_ guards and yes twins count as two seperate people" Connor and Travis both chuckle at this. "You get the other team's flag and you bring it across good old Zephyros to either Chiron or myself and your team wins. Any questions?"

"Just one - can I join?" Everyone turns as Nico di Angelo speaks from the back of the crowd. Percy smiles and walks on to shore, shaking his hand in welcome.

"Of course. You're with the blue team. Alright! Let's get this going. You each have twenty minutes to set up defenses. Oh and there are some extra traps set up in the woods today so be extra careful. Good luck and may the gods be with you." Percy smiles and goes back to his spot by Chiron.

"Excellent Percy. Blue team, you are by Zeus' Fist. Red you are opposite them. Good luck to all of you." Chiron gives them a kind smile and waves them off. Each team jogs off to their spot, the Athena cabin taking charge for the blue team and the Ares cabin taking charge for the red team. Cecilia puts on her helmet as they jog to their base of operations.

"Alright, I want Connor as a guard and I need another volunteer." Yasmine, the current leader of Cabin 6, instructs once they reach the fist. Penelope, a daughter of Iris, raises her hand and volunteers. Yasmine nods and then moves on, pulling out a map and explaining what they were going to do. The Hephaestus kids were already out setting up traps around their perimeter that would capture but not kill their opponents. Those that were remaining were to be the charging force. Cecilia, Christopher, and Nico were to try and sneak around to get to their flag while the rest were occupied. Christopher was slightly upset he didn't get to help set up the traps but understood.

The blue team listens as the horn is blown to begin the games. The charge heads out into the woods, ready to meet their opponents in battle, while the three took the long way around, following the creek. "So, decided to give us another shot or just hanging out for the day?" Cecilia asks Nico as they move along the creek side.

"Why do you ask? Did you miss me?"

"Pssh, as if!"

"Will you two be quiet before we get caught?" Christopher asks, pulling a small machine from his belt. It looked like a small bumble bee. "This is equipped with a camera, it'll tell me who we're going to be up against once we reach their flag." Christopher turns it on and sends it off ahead of them, looking at his watch as he does so. "Looks like they've set up some pretty dense plant coverage and have archers all around from Apollo's kids. We'll need to take care of them-" Chris is cut off as an animal leaps out from the woods, knocking him into the water. Cecilia recognizes it as a giant wolf and is shocked to find one out in the woods of Camp.

Regardless of her shock, Cecilia jumps into action to save her friend. Nico and her circle around, getting it's attention. The wolf looked up from trying to eat Christopher and snarls at them, watching both of them carefully. Cecilia takes a risk, sprinting toward the creature and stabbing at it. "Come on ugly! Come and get me!" Her main concern was getting Chris out from under the creature. She stabs it in its side once and immediately regrets it as it leaps at her. Rolling to the side, she barely escapes from it's paw. Nico grabs Chris out of the water as Cecilia jumps up and faces off with the dog. "A little help guys!"

"Yeah! Coming!" Chris calls, his voice full of pain as he digs through his bag "oh come on! Where is it!" Nico runs forward to help, getting the creature in its back leg. Cecilia slices its paw as it raises it to swipe at Nico. "Aha! Here it is! Cece! Catch!" Chris throws a green jar to Cece, holding his shoulder as he does. Cecilia barely catches the jar and sees what it is - Greek fire. Grinning, she runs in front of the wolf.

"Hey! Puppy! Chew on this!" As the animal opens its mouth to snack on her, she chucks the jar into it's open jaws. The jar immediately breaks and the animal gives one last whimper as its insides burn and it turns to a pile of ash. Cece doesn't wait around to celebrate, running to Chri. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah" Chris winces "I'll be fine. Just go on without me, I'll catch up if I can." Nico and Cece don't hang around to argue with him and take off toward the red team, both running hard as they had lost time. They weren't about to waste another second if they could help it.

"Alright, so we know they have archers set up. We need a distraction for them." Cecilia offers as they get closer.

"Do you think you can handle the two guards on your own?"

"I'm not letting you run off!" the two stop as they reach the edge of tall grass, grass that hadn't been there that morning.

"I can shadow travel and take out all of the archers while you handle the two guards. Can you do it?" Cecilia nods and sighs, "good. I can call Mrs O'Leary to shadow travel you across this grass. It's probably full of traps and other stuff, maybe even people." Without waiting for a response, Nico disappears into the shadows and then reappears a second later with Mrs. O'Leary, the only friendly hellhound in existence.

Cecilia climbs on top of Mrs. O'Leary and pets behind her ears, "alright girl. Take me into their fortress." Closing her eyes, Cecilia clings to Mrs. O'Leary as they run into the shadows and reappear across the new meadow. Cecilia jumps down off of the dog and pets her, dismissing her.

"This is so boring, we never get the fun jobs" Adam, a son of Aphrodite complains, as he sits on a rock and picks his nails.

"I know, right? Ugh, I swear. I am _sooo_ done with this place!" Aystin, his twin sister, agrees as she admires hers in the sunlight. Cecilia rolls her eyes at their behavior, sneaking up behind them to grab the flag that sat in front of them. They'd left a wide, non grassy perimeter so it was easy to appear behind them. Cecilia also knew that they weren't paying attention to her and, even if they did, they wouldn't fight her.

"I'll write Dad and he might let us take the jet to Paris for the rest of the summer, wouldn't that be awesome?"

"It would be but not as awesome as this!" Cecilia couldn't help but gloat a little as she sprinted out and grabbed the flag, not giving them enough time to even stand up as she ran through the grass, her sword knocking it down in front of her.

"Hey! That's ours!" Adam yells, chasing behind her with his sword drawn.

"Not anymore pretty boy!" Cecilia yells behind her, willing her legs to go faster. The last thing she wanted was to be caught by Adam. Suddenly, the wind is knocked out of her as someone trips her, sending her tumbling out of the grassy coverage. She rolls and clings to the flag, jumping up and shoving it in her pocket.

"Hey there unclaimed. Ready to dance with me?" Ryan, a son of Ares, stands before her in red armor, a sadistic grin on his face. He fought with a spear and a shield but was just as terrifying with any other weapon.

"I would but I really have to be off!" Cecilia turns to run but comes face to face with another Ares camper. "Shit." Cecilia dodges as Ryan jabs, side stepping a blow from the other one's hammer. Cecilia keeps on her toes, dodging and blocking as she is moved by them. All she needed to do was get back to the Fist and across the river. Carefully, she takes her time and exams each of them. The one with the hammer was newer, very new. It appeared he'd only been there a few days at most. Timing his swings, she waits for the right moment before stepping forward and slicing his side, taking him out of the equation so to speak.

"You sneaky bitch!" Ryan keeps coming at her, keeping his shield up whenever she tries to strike him. Cecilia begins to panic as Ryan gets closer and closer to wounding her. Seeing this, Ryan's grin grows and he becomes more aggressive. "You really do suck! No wonder your mother doesn't want to claim you!"

Blood thundering in her ears, Cecilia blocks one of his jabs and yells "let me pass!" The effect of the magic is immediate, Ryan drops his weapons and steps to the side, letting her pass. Cecilia freezes for a second, completely stunned he listened, before she takes off in a sprint back to the Fist. On the way there she isn't interrupted by anyone or anything. She reaches the fist and sees Connor and Penelope taking on three people dressed in red. Without taking the time to announce herself, she sprints across the river and holds out the red flag to Percy. Percy smiles and takes it, holding it high for all to see as Chiron blows the horn to signal the end.

The blue team had won.


	3. 3 Christopher

AN: Sorry, it's kind of short! Been a busy day!

"I'm fine - I said I'm fine. Can I go now?" Chris pushes back the Apollo camper who was looking over his shoulder. "It's just a small scratch."

"Fine. Go. Just take it easy with the hammering, got it?" chris rolls his eyes but jumps down from the bed and walks out of the medical tent. Sure, his shoulder hurt but that didn't mean that they had any right to keep him locked up like one of their stupid animals. Plus he wanted to go to the campfire and tell Cecilia good job. He'd heard all about the magic she worked on Ryan. It was impressive but people wanted to know how she did it. Walking through the camp, he heads toward the large bonfire in the middle of camp, hearing everyone singing along with the free Apollo and Aphrodite kids. He reaches the fire and scans it for Cecilia, seeing her sitting off in a corner with the di Angelo kid.

"I don't know what happened Nico. I really, really don't know what I - hey Chris!" Cecilia cuts herself, jumping up from her spot on the log. "How's your shoulder?"

"I'm fine. You alright? I heard what you did with that Ryan kid." A dark look crosses her face and she sits down.

"If you're going to ask me what I did I'm going to give you the same answer I've given everyone else. I don't know what happened so please stop asking me."

"I wasn't going to ask what you did because I don't care. I just know you kicked his scrawny pretentious ass. That's all I care about." Cecilia grins and offers him her spot, which he promptly and gratefully takes. "Pass me a mallow?" She grabs one of the bags of marshmallows and tosses it to him, getting him a plate of chocolate and graham crackers.

"Well Nico here kicked ass too. Why don't you wish him a good job?"

"I never said the words good job Cece. Just watch yourself." Chris puts a marshmallow on a stick and sticks it over the fire, letting it completely burn before putting it on the graham cracker and making a s'more out of it.

"But it's what you meant! Oh I love this one! Be right back!" Cecilia walks to the group of musicians and joins in on their rendition of some country song Chris didn't recognize. He couldn't help but watch her as she sang and moved to the music, a smile on her face.

"So, are you going to tell her about your massive crush on her any time soon?" Nico asks, sitting back and messing with his sword.

"What are you talking about skeleton boy?" Chris asks, looking over at him.

"You're staring after her like a lost puppy. It's kind of pathetic actually." Nico sits back, watching the fire roar twenty feet in the air and burn brightly. It had been a long time since the camp fire had last been low and dull, everything was fine.

"I am not! She is my friend! That's it!" Chris feels his ears turn red and his palms begin to burn a little bit. He reaches in his tool belt and pulls out a few pieces of metal, tinkering with them absentmindedly.

"Sure she is, what you say pall."

"Listen here you little-" Chris begins but cuts off when he sees a bright pink light from where Cecilia is standing. She looks around her at the pink aura and suddenly a dove like shape appears around her as well, enfolding her. Chris jumps up and runs over to her, his weapon drawn. "Cecilia? Are you alright?"

"Hold on Christopher! Do not touch her!" Chiron orders, trotting over. A moment later Cecilia emerges, completely changed.

Gone were her torn clothes and battle uniform. Instead she wore a classical Greek silk chiton with a belt of gold around her waist that held her sword. Her hair was lightly curled away from her face and a golden laurel shown. Her scars and blemishes had all faded away and she wore a pin with a dove on her left breast. In short, she looked like a goddess. Everyone around the fire could not help but stare at her, marveling at her beauty. Even the other sons and daughters of Aphrodite couldn't help but stare at her. She herself was amazed by the transformation.

"I present to you, Cecilia Antoniou, the lady of the dove!" Chiron announces, bowing at his waist with his arm folded across his chest. The rest of the camp followed suit, all knowing that if Chiron was bowing and announcing her with an official title it was important. Cecilia's ears couldn't help but turn pink and she began to argue with them to straighten up.

"No daughter. They do not have to. They are simply showing your respect. The respect that you deserve" Aphrodite says, walking into the light of the campfire. Everyone goes into a full bow at the sight of her, the guys have to be elbowed to bow to her as they are stunned by her beauty. "Hello Cecilia. Everyone."

Chris shakes his head, clearing the daze and looks over at Cecilia whose fists are balled at her sides. She also wasn't bowing, not even the slightest.

"How. Dare. You." Cecilia shouts at the goddess, drawing her sword from her belt. _Oh shit._


	4. 4 Cecilia

"How. Dare. You." Cecilia shouts at the goddess, drawing her sword from her belt. "How dare you come waltzing in here! How dare you claim me now! After all these years you think that you can just come waltzing in here and claim me like everything is okay?" Aphrodite stops walking once she is across from Cecilia, the now low fire between them. The other campers were stunned that Cecilia dared raise her sword to a goddess, much less an Olympian goddess.

"Hello my sons and daughters. You are all looking well. Emanuel, watch that zit that is coming on your chin. You have to exfoliate more instead of running off with girls every night." Aphrodite ignores Cecilia's yells and her sword, checking over her off spring instead. Cecilia's ears roar and she walks over to her mother, pushing past Chris who attempts to block her path.

"You will not ignore me! Not now!" Cecilia slams her sword down in front of Aphrodite, almost cutting the goddess's nose. An audible gasp and a shriek come up from her brothers and sisters and some of the other campers. "You have ignored me for fifteen years. I will not be ignored straight to my face. Why did you wait to claim me? Why claim me now? Why after years of forgetting me did you suddenly decide to claim me!"

"I did not forget you. I have many children but I know all about all of you. Every single one." Aphrodite stares down her daughter and waves her well manicured right hand over the sword, dissolving it in a cloud of perfumed mist. Cecilia draws her knife and goes to stab the goddess in the hand but is blocked by a sword.

"I would just sit down and listen to my lady little girl." Cecilia looked up at a large man wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses, even though it was night out. In that moment she didn't care who this man was, she wanted him out of her way so she could kill her own mother.

"Now, now you two. Let's not fight. Cecilia, don't make me confiscate both of your weapons. Everyone except Cecilia, her friend, and your leaders may leave us, if you please." Everyone except those listed, and Chiron, leave back to their cabins. It takes just a moment but soon they are all that is left in the clearing. "Where is Dionysus?"

"He's away, visiting his wife my lady" Chiron answers, unfolding himself from his wheelchair.

"What a shame, at least Percy is here. How are you young hero?" Aphordite asks, brushing back his hair. "I'm glad to know that you and Annabeth are doing well."

"Pretty… I mean, pretty good" Percy stumbles, blushing dark red. Aphrodite giggles and shakes her hair.

"Stop toying with him! Why are you here?" Cecilia asks her mother, Chris holding her back at this point.

"To claim you as my daughter and-"

"HA! You want to claim me? That's rich." Cecilia exclaims, cutting her off. "You should've claimed me years ago. _Before_ you let my father die. You may have claimed me and marked me in front of the Camp but I reject you and the claim."

"I did not 'let' your father die" Aphrodite argues, sitting gracefully in a chair she conjures and pulling out a mirror, checking on her impeccable appearance. "I loved him. I have loved every man I have been with over the many years that I have been alive."

"You don't look a day over twenty Lady Aphrodite" Travis Stoll says with a goofy grin.

"Aren't you a sweetheart?" Aphrodite smiles, glancing at him over her compact.

"Ya know, I prayed for you for years. From the time I was five and found out the truth I prayed and lived without an answer. Fine, you're busy. You're the goddess of love and whatever else. But when my father got cancer and I prayed without a response? No. I deserved an answer! He deserved an answer! You let him die a painful and long death!" Percy tries to interrupt but Aphrodite raises a hand to stop him, watching her daughter carefully. "It would've been more merciful to kill him yourself!"

"Did you know that your father prayed to me as well? Throughout all of it? He was a strange man. Not very outwardly handsome, it's true, but there was something inside him that was truthfully beautiful. I didn't want him to die Cecilia. I never want my lovers to die."

"But you let him. Fine, the Fates have control and had already cut his life string. Fine. I can live with that. But then you let my cousin die and then my aunt die. Those are on you. I was in Italy with them because of _you_. Because you refused to appear for a meer five minutes in court to claim me. All you had to do was to show up for five minutes! That's it! You should've shown up and signed the damn papers!" Cecilia's voice cracks as she stares down her mother, the world around the two of them disappearing. "All you had to do was claim me then… They didn't have to die… She didn't have to die." Aphrodite watches her daughter with pity in her eyes before she looked away.

"You are my chosen one. Like so many others before you you must suffer. You do not see it now but you will one day. THe lessons will be made clear to you. You will change the path of your family, _all_ of your family. Do not fear emotions my daughter. You are the daughter of the goddess of love. This means you feel every emotion tenfold what others feel. Have faith in your own journey my daughter."

"Why is she the chosen one? She didn't fight the Titans and she obviously hates you" Drew, the leader of the Aphrodite cabin, speaks up. "She doesn't fit the Aphrodite way!"

"Oh my dear. You really should deep condition more. Now I must go. Have a lovely time getting to know each other my dears. Good luck with your little _aventure, peit chercheur de monstres._ " Aphrodite stands up and takes Ares's arm, disappearing in a cloud of red and pink smoke. Cecilia elbows Chris in the stomach and takes off toward the beach at a full sprint.

"Cecilia! Get back here!" Percy yells, chasing after her.

A/N: And there is the end of this chapter. Sorry it took me so long to update. It has been a busy time. Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to share and comment!


	5. 5 Cecilia

Cecilia collapses on the sand, hearing the waves crashing over the sand, her sobs coming out one after the other. She had just yelled at her mother and been claimed by her. It was all too much. Chris would be pissed at her. He, and the rest of the campers, now knew she knew about her parent for years.

"Cece?" Cecilia jumps as Chris lumbers up, looking as awkward as he felt. "Ca-can I sit there?" Cecilia stands up and wipes her face, her nose not running like she thought it would be. Like it normally would be.

"Admit it! You're mad at me. You're pissed. I can _feel_ it. Face it!" Cecilia pushes his chest, hard, with tears streaming down her face. "Say it!"

"No! I'm- I'm not!"

"Admit it! Don't lie to me! I lied to you, I lied to everyone! No one here knew except me. I've known for _years_! I lied to you! Admit you're pissed at me!" Cecilia pushes him harder and harder as she yells. Chris takes a deep breath, trying to remain calm which was very difficult right now. "Admit it!" Cecilia says, shoving Chris back as hard as she possibly can.

"Fine! I am pissed! I'm pissed that you didn't tell me, your supposed best friend! Originally I thought that I was going to hate you! But ya know what, I'm not! We aren't our parents. Isn't that what you always tell me? Huh? So, yeah. Maybe I'm pissed at you but I'm not leaving. You don't get to push me away just because you're having a shitty day at camp. It doesn't work like that, not with us." Chris yells back at her, his hands in fists by his side. Cecilia deflates slightly, sniffling once again. "Are you okay" Chris asks in a softer tone, still not really sure how to handle the situation.

"Yeah, I guess. The cat's out of the bag now huh?"

"Yeah… Why didn't you tell anyone? You obviously knew who your mom was so why didn't you just say something?"

"I dunno. I mean, the Aphrodite kids here are jokes. They all pretend to be airheads and half of them probably are air heads for real. I guess I didn't want to be like them. Like she said, my dad wasn't exactly the most outwardly handsome man alive. Especially not after he got sick… I guess it was just easier to pretend that I wasn't like them. Now I've got this stupid "blessing"" Cecilia adds air quotes around blessing "that makes me look like them. Now that the secrets out people will start treating me different."

"You'll still be the same badass you've always been… Just with better hair." Chris offers to her, his hands slowly relaxing. He knew it was hard for her to talk about her dad.

"Wait, was that a compliment? Oh wow! The world really is ending!" Cecilia jokes half heartedly, giving him a light push with her shoulder. Chris rolls his eyes and pushes back. "I should probably head back and face the music, huh?"

"Yeah, that might be a good start. Want me to walk with you?"

"Might as well unless you have a hot date waiting for you somewhere."

"The only hot date I've ever been on is with the forge." Chris answers, the two falling in step with each other easily.

"What you do in your workshop is between you and your tools. I don't need to know."

"Don't make it gross." Cecilia gives a small smile, her hand falling to rest on her sword hilt. She wouldn't let this change her. She was damned if the world was going to treat her any differently. She would fight to stay in the Hermes cabin come hell or high water. She didn't belong with her supposed siblings. They very clearly did not want her and she did not want them. Maybe Chiron could and would make an exception. After all, he let her stay all these years even after she hadn't been claimed by her godly parent.

The unlikely pair make their way back to the fire where Chiron sat in waiting with a very pissed off Drew, a pensive Percy, and a brooding Nico. Drew's head whips around as the two make their presence known to all in the clearing. Her dark brown eyes drill into Cecilia and she stalks over to the shorter girl, ready to slap her. Cecilia watches her carefully and as soon as the girl raises her hand to hit her, Cecilia grabs her by the wrist and pins her hand behind her back.

"Watch yourself there girly. Someone might think you're trying to pick a fight with me and my record is _much_ better than yours Barbie."

"We don't want you!" Drew says venomously, fighting to get out of her grasp. "You know that right? We all hated you before and this changes nothing!" Cecilia rolls her eyes and gives her 'sister' a gentle nudge away, letting her wrist go as she does.

"I'm not jazzed about this either. Chiron? Is there anyway I can remain in the Hermes cabin? I mean, my brothers and sisters obviously don't want me and I don't exactly fit in there either. "

"I'm afraid that even though that may be the case, the camp rules are absolute. You have been claimed, you move in there tonight. I'm sure a few of your younger siblings would be more than willing to help you move a few of your belongs. The Stoll brothers are already packing up your things. Percy? Would you oversee her move? It is late and we will talk more about this in the morning. Good night everyone." With that, Chiron ends the discussion and cantors off to the Big House. Drew huffs and flips her hair, heading to the Aphrodite cabin. Percy stands and sheaths his sword, walking over to Chris and Cecilia with Nico.

"Alright, I know you're going to hate it but you have to move tonight. I'll help you." Percy says, giving her a pitiful smile.

"I will too." Nico offers.

"Let's do it." The three young men head off in the direction of the Hermes cabin with Cecilia trailing behind. They knew that this wasn't going to be easy and more than likely they were in for a fight as soon as they picked up her stuff but orders were orders.


	6. 6 Cecilia

(A/N: In this chapter we get a bit more of Cecilia's background but there are plenty more surprises to come. PLEASE feel free to leave reviews or to message me and check out my other stories. The more reviews/messages I get the more likely I am to continue to write it.)

"Listen, _bitch._ I don't give a rat's ass if you were hand picked by Mom. You are not putting that stinky smelly thing in our cabin." Drew whines for the millionth time. Cecilia just rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, letting her rant. "You clearly don't belong here so why don't you just leave Camp?"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. Nor am I going to get rid of my baby blanket. Now get out of my way and if you touch my stuff" Cecilia pulls out her knife and just flips it in her hand, "well, let's just say you'll regret it. Got it?" Cecilia can see the slight panic in her 'sister's' eyes and can't help but smirk. She was weak as the rest of them. "Now, get out of my way so I can get dressed. Thanks!" Grabbing her clothes off her bed, she goes to the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She knew it was rude but after fighting with Drew for the better part of an hour, she needed a moment to herself. The night before had been hell enough for her. As soon as the guys had helped her carry inside (which wasn't very much), Drew had made it clear that she was to be treated as a leper. This wouldn't bother her if Drew had left her alone. No, instead she had picked at her clothes and belongings and was determined to make her life a living hell. Sleeping in the heavily perfumed cabin was nearly impossible as well. So much pink. So clean. So many beauty products.

Oh and to top it all off, as soon as she had woken up and tried to grab clothes, she had found her entire dresser filled to the brim with designer clothes and shoes. Which was ridiculous to her but she couldn't find any of her other clothes other than an old shirt of her father's that she used as a pajama shirt. Even her Camp Half Blood shirt had been turned into a crop top made out of high class material. So Cecilia had pulled a random pair of jeans and a tank top out and had a plan to rough it up. Brushing her teeth, she looked in the mirror and groans as she notices her mom's 'blessing' was still in effect. Shaking her hair out, she flips it up but, even though it was messy, it was still perfect. It was messy perfect. That had never happened! After spending ten minutes in the bathroom trying to mess up her hair and make up, she gives up and turns to the clothes. She pulls a pair of scissors out of her bag and starts cutting randomly at the jeans, making holes and ripping them. She then turns her attention to the shirt and puts cuts in it.

Cecilia pulls them on her and looked in the mirror, groaning in frustration. The clothes must be charmed as well because while they should be frayed and disheveled they looked like the rips had been done on purpose and were perfect cut. Slamming her stuff back in her bag, Cecilia straps her sword and knife on her hip, storming out. Her brothers and sisters watch her as she comes out, all whispering about her outfit. Ignoring them, she goes about putting her stuff away and locking it, murmuring an old Greek spell on the lock that she knew. Flipping her hair, Cecilia walks out and heads to the dining hall to eat breakfast. The rest of her new cabin barely ate anything, preferring to spend their mornings getting every hair absolutely perfect.

"Hey!" Cecilia calls to Chris, running to catch up with him. It takes him a moment to recognize her, used to her with a messy ponytail and no make up of any kind. She jogs to catch up with him as he walks.

"Well you look like you slept well." He says, his voice full of discontempt. Chosing to ignore it, she falls in stride with him.

"Trust me, it's only this stupid 'blessing' that my lovely mother gave me." She rolls her eyes "I can't wait for it to wear off. I need to ask Chiron how long that's going to take. I was also thinking that you and I could talk about what school you're going to in the fall."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, normally I stay here but I was thinking… What if I go back to school? I mean, I normally go online and do all of my school work with one of Athena's kids. I've got decent grades, they're not A's or anything but- What's that face for?"

"Nothing, I'm gonna go sit with my family. We can talk later." Chris walks away without another word, seeming to want to put as much distance as possible between the two of them. Frowning, Cecilia heads to the Hermes table on instinct. Travis Stoll interrupts her before she can sit down.

"Um, you can't sit here. Remember?" Cecilia's heart falls slightly and she stops in her path.

"Oh, yeah. Right. I just.. Um.. came to thank you and your brother. Ya know, for housing me all those years." Travis gives her a kind smile and nods, sitting back down. Crestfallen, Cecilia walks to the Aphrodite table and sits as far away from her supposed siblings as she can. After poking at her food for twenty minutes, she leaves the dining pavilion and heads to the beach. She needed to clear her head. Flopping down in the sand, she pulls her knees up to her chest. Ever since she'd been claimed there had been so much change. It was clear that Chris had had time to think on what had happened and wasn't happy with her, distancing himself. Her siblings hated her, which she had expected and didn't really care about.

The worst part of it all was that she knew during training people were going to treat her differently. They were going to think that the past few years were just a fluke and that she was just as weak as her siblings. But the thing was, Aphrodite's kids aren't weak. Sure this batch wasn't particularly gifted at fighting or anything like that but they did have their gifts. Cecilia's dad had taught her that.

See, her dad hadn't been like that other mortals that Aphrodite had hooked up with. He was a marine biologist, a rather famous one with novels and things published. The two had had a different connection. She would occasionally stop by their house when Cecilia was little and stay with them for a few days at a time but then the visits stopped once Cecilia turned five. The only reason she remembered was because of a Greek spell that she had done a few years ago but more on that later. Everything was fine, she just assumed that her mom had left because of reasons that her dad would share with her later. She went to Camp every summer but only went about three quarters of the summer. She also trained during the school year. When Cecilia was in middle school her dad moved them away from the coast claiming it was for her. She went to a new school where she joined a track team. She later found out the reason her dad hadn't answered her calls or texts or come to her meets. He had cancer and was trying to find a cure for it. It wasn't until he got his final answer from a doctor about how he had six months to live that he told her.

The two spent the last six months of his life doing everything together. He took her out of school and they did everything they could. He passed in December of what should have been her eighth grade year. A month later she was forced by the courts to move in with her aunt and cousin, the only family she had remaining. Per her father's orders the three moved to Greece, thinking it would be safer for her then staying in the States as the Gods fought against the titans. Once there they were attacked time and time again. Cecilia could only do so much when her aunt and cousin couldn't see through the Mist. Eventually the two were killed and she slipped back to the states and disappeared for a while. She returned to camp a few years ago and had decided to stay full time. With only being sixteen, she still had two more years before she needed to figure out exactly what she was doing with her life. More than likely she would hang around Camp and help out like Percy did. She needed to prove herself, especially after her mom had just interrupted life and made that announcement last night that she was a chosen one.

"Cecilia?" She looked up and finds Percy standing there with a grim look on her face. "Chiron wants to talk to you."

"Course he does." She murmurs, standing up and brushing the sand off of her jeans. The two walk to the Big House in an uncomfortable silence. Normally Cecilia liked the Big House. It was where she had gone to talk with Chiron, where she had celebrated a few birthdays, and was normally a beacon of light. Today was different. Instead it felt like she was being marched to her death as Percy held the door open for her and led her to the sitting room.

Chiron was there in his wheelchair and Dionysus was sitting back in a cushy chair, sipping on a glass of wine. "Hello Cecilia. Please, feel free to take a seat. Have you had breakfast this morning?"

"Yeah, I just came from there actually. Well before Percy found me out on the beach." She sits on a stool, her hand resting comfortably on her sword.

"Now, I've filled Lord Dionysus in on the events of last night. Percy has also informed me that you charm spoke him into not telling us who your godly parent was that very same day. You do realize how serious this is?"

"I do but I don't at the same time. I mean, I didn't actually do anything wrong, right? I didn't hurt anyone and I didn't make Percy harm anyone. I just wasn't ready. I didn't think that Aphrodite wanted me." Cecilia's heart couldn't help but speed up due to nerves.

"It is very serious regardless of if anyone was hurt or not."

"Drew charm speaks all the time and yet she's the freaking head of the cabin! It's bull- its ridiculous." Cecilia catches herself as Chiron looks at her with slight pity and slight disappointment.

"Be that as it may, we need to have a serious discussion. Now the Lady of the Dove is a very important title for an important daughter of Aphrodite. As your mother hinted at last night you will have challenges in your life, more so than usual. So we would ask that you go and speak with our oracle today. She should be here shortly."

"Do I have to?" Cecilia asks, "I mean, it could just be a fluke. She could be mistaken." Dionysus looked up from his wine magazine and rolls his eyes.

"Listen Carly, us gods don't make mistakes. So just suck it up" Dionysus flips the page in his magazine and continues reading. Cecilia rolls her eyes and sighs, accepting her fate.

"Fine, I'll talk to the stupid oracle when she gets here. Can I go until then?"

"Hey now! We haven't even talked and you're calling me stupid? I'm offended Cecilia!" Rachel Dare says, stepping into the room with a smile.


	7. 7 Christopher

Chris's muscles ripple as he hammers away at the shield he was working on. It was requested by a daughter of Ares that he actually got along with and she was willing to pay him for his work. With all that he had found out in the last twenty four hours it was a welcome distraction as well. He had not only found out that his best friend was a liar but that their friendship was doomed. And his crush? Forget about that! Okay, yes Nico was right. He did have a slight crush on Cecilia but that didn't matter now.

See, with Hephaestus and Aphrodite having married many eons ago, their children were naturally drawn to each other. But, just like with their parents, their relationships typically didn't end well. Hephaestus kids tended to be too numb to their feelings and Aphrodite kids were too into their feelings. There was also the fact that the Fates seemed to enjoy playing cruel games with their feelings and chose those kinds of couples to pick on and make miserable. Look at Silena and Charles. Not that Chris would have ever had a shot with her in the first place but that doesn't mean he wouldn't have liked to have at least a slim shot at it.

Chris finishes hammering away and holds up the shield, admiring his handy work. He was set to deliver it back to her by the end of the day but didn't see the harm in giving it to her now. Working his way out of the forge, he goes the their cabin to look for her first. He knocks on their door and stands back, holding the shield in his hands. For him it was tiny as he stood at nearly 6'3, around 250 lbs with broad shoulders and hands like catchers mitts. For Tracy though it was a good fit. She was only seven years old and as such was only about four foot five inches and 50 lbs on a good day. Being this said, she was a hell of a fighter and he had a soft spot for her. She was a feisty little thing who was driven to prove her place among her older siblings. The door of the Ares cabin swings open to reveal the little girl, her wild curls all over the place.

"Chris! Did you finish it?" He nods and hands it over, watching as she admires his work with wide brown eyes. "Cool! Oh I'm totally gonna kick butt with this!" Chris can't help the slight chuckle and smile that came across him.

"That you are. You havin' issues with your hair?" Tracy nods and shrugs, not really caring. "Want me to help?"

"What do you know about hair?" Tracy asks him accusitoringly.

"Just go to your bed and hand me your comb." Tracy lets him in and does exactly that, still holding her shield and admiring the work. Chris's fingers, large as they may be, were nimble and able to work with small parts in the shop. His mom was also a school teacher so he got used to sort of adopting kids into their small family. Tracy's hair was a lot like his mom's so he knew how to handle it. He pulls it back off of her face and makes sure it can fit under her helmet. "There ya go. See ya later."

"Wait! I have to pay you!" Tracy came from a richer family with her mom living off of her dad's fortune from selling guns and the like. She digs in her bag that she stored around her neck and hands him a fifty dollar bill and a few drachma. "Thank you!"

"My pleasure. Anytime you need anything you know where I am." Chris walks out of the cabin and heads back towards the forges. He sighs and pulls some spare parts from his tool belt, fiddling with them and building something small out of them. Fixing things and fiddling with them helped him to clear his head and stay focused on what was ahead of him. Right now he was busy preparing for the chariot race that was coming up. He and one of his brothers were set to compete together in it to represent their cabin. While none of them were particularly close, they did still respect the crap out of each other and made sure to help each other when needed. They also wanted to prove that they belonged and weren't going to be rejects like their dad was considered among the gods.

Chris saunters into the forge and heads straight for his work station. As a kid of Hephaestus, he had laid claim to this particular workbench pretty much as soon as he arrived. It was in an optimal space and it didn't hurt that when Beckendorf was alive it had been right next to where he worked. He stops in his steps however when he sees Cecilia sitting on top of the smooth space, swinging her legs, very clearly waiting for him. He walks up and sets what he was working on down, grabbing another project from the side.

"Can I help you?" He asks her, his voice gruffier than usual. There was no use in pretending that their relationship, even friendship, could continue like it had. Maybe she was just using him in the first place as some sick joke.

"Yeah you can tell me what's up your ass that you're being such an ass." Cecilia answers simply, playing with a sharpening tool.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh please. You're never that eager to go and sit with your 'family'." Cecilia rolls her eyes and sighs "I've known you for how long? I'm your best friend. Come on, what's going on? Is this about last night?"

"Yeah know what, yeah. It is. I don't want to talk about it, especially not with you."

"Why not?"

"Because you lied to me Cecilia. You lied for years. Let's not pretend that that wasn't on purpose. We all know about your family's stupid acceptance ritual. Well I'm not going to fall pray to that so why don't you just get out of here?" Cecilia looks up at him with hurt in her eyes before he sees a hateful look cross her eyes. She jumps down and slams the sharpening tool down on the table.

"Fine. When you want to stop acting like such an ass and see me for who I really am, the person you've known for years, then we can talk." Cecilia storms out, knocking over a thing of helmets that he'd been perfecting while she does. Chris frowns and watches her go, his heart aching slightly. Turning to the mess, he gets that cleaned up before turning to his table.

"Time to work, Chris. Shake it off" he murmurs to himself as his hands get busy.

(Sorry its so short! Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!)


	8. 8 Cecilia

The rest of Cecilia's day passed without incident other than the constant whispering and stares. She was determined not to let it get to her though, she wouldn't do that to herself. Even though what Chris said hurt she knew he'd get over it and they would talk it out. She gave it a week tops. The two were best friends and he was being irrational. Didn't he get that she had had to hide it? To fit in? To not be defined by who her mom was as so many at Camp were? As soon as you were classified into a cabin you were labeled as this or that. Sure, it was true to an extent but that didn't mean everyone was that way. Cecilia certainly wasn't.

By the end of the day, Cecilia is just ready to crash in her bed. Walking into the cabin her nose is immediately assaulted by the smell of perfumes and colognes. She sneezes and weaves her way through her siblings to her bed, pulling out her pajamas and brushing out her hair. She took a moment to observe her siblings. The youngest was eight years old. Everyone was in designer pajamas or clothes with some sort of skin product on their face or body. The boys were also working out while the girls were plucking their eyebrows, waxing their legs and arms, or checking for any sort of skin imperfection. Drew was walking among the groups, helping them catch ones that they may have missed.

It seemed like they were all fearful of her, cowering under her tyranny. Well Cecilia was going to show them that there was more than one kind of Aphrodite kid. Reaching in the box of her belongings she hung up the pictures of her dad and her travels, the villa that she lived in in Greece before it got, ya know, destroyed, coral reefs, and last but not least the picture of her mom. It was a simple picture, just a woman in sweat pants and an old college sweatshirt that had old stains on the front of it. Her hair was back in a messy bun and she had her head thrown back in laughter. You couldn't see it but Cecilia was dancing around in front of her pretending to be a fish. It was her favorite picture of her mom, the one she always kept on her if she traveled. This was the Aphrodite that she knew was there. This was the Aphrodite she connected with.

"Um, what do you think you're doing?" Drew asks as Cecilia finishes, her lips pursed in disgust.

"Oh, just adding a few personal touches before going to bed" comes Cecilia's super sweet answer. "I just saw everyone else had pictures and things hung up on their wall so I figured I'd hang some of my own."

"Whose that?" A younger girl asks, pointing to the picture of Aphrodite. Drew glares daggers at the poor girl but Cecilia gives her a kind smile.

"That is our mother." Drew let's out a snort of laughter and rolls her eyes.

"Our mother wouldn't be caught dead in that outfit. If you could even call it that." Cecilia smiles tensely and stands up, sighing.

"You think you know everything don't you Drew? You think just because you're the head camper here means that you know everything. Well you don't. Have you ever talked to our mother? I mean, more than last night and I don't mean praying either. No? That's what I thought. Well I did. My dad and I spent years with her visiting us and showing us her true self. See, I may not know much but I do know that beauty isn't just something that's on the outside. No, it goes much deeper than that. Inner beauty is much more powerful than outer beauty. Ya know, maybe that's why Mom claimed me as her Chosen One and not you." Drew backs up as Cecilia gets closer, her face turning more tense as Cecilia advances on her. "Maybe its because she knows that behind that beautiful face of yours you're really a cold hearted witch with no heart. You're ugly inside Drew which makes you ugly on the outside." Drew's hand pulls back and she slaps the other girl, the sound resonating through the now silent cabin. Cecilia's cheek burns but she shakes it off, looking Drew in her eyes.

"You want to talk more trash? Mom will soon realize she's made a mistake and pick me as her Chosen One. It's only a matter of time." Drew flips her hair and heads to her bunk.

"No, I don't think it is. The Oracle says that I'm the right one, that I'm going to make some changes around here." Drew turns on the spot and glares at her.

"What? You're going to challenge me now? Ha! Go ahead, talk to Chiron. I have seniority over you. He'll never fall for your pathetic tricks. Ever. You can't even hold on to your stupid 'best friend'. You'll never be a proper daughter of Aphrodite. Not now, not ever! Not so long as I have a say in it!" Drew slams her bathroom door shut leaving the room to turn and stare at Cecilia.

"I am a proper daughter of Aphrodite, maybe the only one left. I will prove it." Cecilia snatches her clothes off of her bed and goes into the bathroom, slamming that door. Her siblings take a moment to look at each other, not sure what to do now.

"Well this should make for an interesting summer!" Quinn announces and gets back to the routine, her siblings following her example.


End file.
